What Will Sony's Response Be?

It'll match or be more. Like Jeff said on the latest Bombcast, no way Sony will try to take a large loss on these with the video game arm of the company now being the golden goose.

I’m hoping they’ll match but I can easily see the third option.

I'd hope for a price match, but wouldn't be shocked if the PS5 is $550 if they really don't like the loss but don't wanna have a *6* at the front of the pricetag.

I'm leaning towards matching at least one of the SKUs with the X but I could totally see things going the way some people here are describing about the high horse asshole approach of being the prestigious place to play games. You'd think they would remember the PS3 lesson but they've also completely stripped away the friendly "we welcome all" days back when Adam Bois was on board.

I think that a lot of the “competition” between Sony, MS and Nintendo is invented, at this point, by industry nerds who want “to see a good fight”. What’s on offer from the three companies is so different, now, that price means less than it ever has before.

For instance, I’m a console vr player so my choice is made, whatever the price. My brother has two babies so his life dictates Switch at whatever the price. Game enter fans will see va;use in the ms ecosystem and they have a box for whatever they want to pay.

The hulabaloo about price is mostly irrelevant because ,adjusted for inflation, even the priciest estimations for PS5 arent more expensive than the Sega Saturn or similar upper-price consoles.

I dunno. That sounds very mid-2000's Sony hubris "599 US DOLLARS" to me. I voted that they would match the Series X pricing, but I could very well see them straddling that price at 449/549 for the digital and disc versions, respectively.

It sounds like that's the general cynic side expectation. Sony whooped ass this gen with the Ps4, much like they whooped ass with the PS2, so people are expecting a repeat of the PS3 hubris after a super successful generation. I hope that's not what happens, but I have to admit I'll be a little amused if it does. I love ironic moments of history repeating itself.

The entire reason for this game of price chicken was to wait and respond to the other guys price point. If Sony sees this $500 and $300 price and still says "Fuck it $600 and $550" then all this bullshit was for nothing. They would have been better off saying $600 months ago, get your second jobs and start saving up. They where both waiting it out to see how much they could get away with, or even better undercut the other. And since MS tossed out there numbers there probably fairly confident Sony cant undercut that price, and hopefully match it at best. And even if they can match the $500 price, i don't see them getting close to the $300 version. So i think MS is in a very good place in terms is price point no matter how you look at it.

I assume someone at Sony has been running numbers and had ballpark figures ready, and are crunching them even more now that they have a number to reach. With the rumored price of manufacturing im assuming they cant undercut the $500 price, but will hopefully match it. Unless MS with all its money are taking a big loss already with this $500 just to be on top again, and Sony just cant take that kind off loss lead. But my guess is $500 for the regular version, and maybe $400 with the digital version. They can toss $50 for the drive, and $50 more from guaranteed PSN sales.

According to reporting it costs sony 451 to produce the console. So I could see it going 449 and 399. I think that would be the best pricing they could do. They could go higher if they choose. Xbox puts them in a weird position with the 299 and 499 pricing.

Sony won't undercut Microsoft. Microsoft is trying to brute force the issue by simply throwing / losing insane amounts of money at the problems. Microsoft is losing a LOT of money now -on both consoles, on Game Pass (which still isn't profitable, by their own admission), by the deal they worked with EA- on the hopes of making that money back in the future.

Sony's got money, but they aren't in Microsoft's position, either in desperation nor corporate size.

Sony, like Nintendo, has made a name for themselves as being THE console maker who makes premiere, exclusive AAA games and experiences. Microsoft can't compete with that, nor are they trying to.

Microsoft is trying to be Netflix (current Netflix, not Netflix old Netflix, which had EVERYTHING).

I don't think Sony will go under but hopefully they will at least match it.

Going over will just be hubris. Hubris hurt Sony with PS3 and it hurt Microsoft with Xbox One.

Hopefully Sony have finally learned their lesson.

We still know barely anything about the feature set of these consoles. We've seen the Xbox menus and that's it.

Sony have focused on the loading and the controller but what about the system level stuff?

@zoofame: I agree that Sony pricing at 600 is just too rough now, even though I personally am fine with it also. That is part of what I find a little odd with how people talk about pricing for consoles is they don't want to pay anything for it compared to any other electronics they buy, from phones to PC components, and even games now seeming to be at 70. Not that I like buying expensive stuff either, but as I worry about power also of these consoles its something I think about a lot. Anyways, that's kind of another topic.

Also, yeah seeing that console wars stuff on Twitter for me is always bizarre as someone who grew up on dumb forums where you'd see this stuff all the time. Now there's less of it here and more of it out in the wild lol.

If you like third person action games about how killing is making you a monster and/or raising a child while doing violent stuff is hard.

I know they aren't all quite that but they are all third person action games. They sure make a lot of very similar games.

I voted match, but it's a complete guess.

@toughshed:Too true on the 3rd person action game. The thing that they capitalized on most this generation was not charging people to play Fortnite, Apex, and Warzone. Any savy tween could convince their parent to get them a playstation 4 since 2017 has not needed PSPlus. Xbox requires gold. Sure some kids are going to (the argument people will make in this thread regarding deals online) know that they can buy a year for cheaper than the monthly going rate. Sure a year is cheaper but buying a couple of months at a time gives you leverage on your kid's homework and doing dishes and allows you to check in on whether or not you're ruining your kids future by being cool. On PS4 once your kid get's over the hump of wanting to look cool and instead focuses on gitgudding then your checkbook is free from the all out assault that is subscription services.

I am hoping that Xbox ditches the gold requirement for multiplayer. I don't mind paying a monthly fee for gamepass and if they do keep gold i'd like more of an offering choice for the titles i pick up OR in some sort of pipe dream maybe pick 1 $9.99 or less title and 1 $14.99 or less title out of the gamepass lineup per month. That might make me a lifetime subscriber.

The most important thing for me is free online gameplay. Wondering or not if people have gold or psPlus is a problem that i am tired of wondering about. Free games have made the proposition of paying money somewhat tolerable. Gamepass has made paying seem like there better be a fair trade in that transaction. People used to pay for AOL for the email address. We have crossed the same threshold and i wont be paying ever again once my year is up.

Would i want to pay 600? preferably not, but in today's world of consumer electronics it wouldn't be an outrageous price. we live in a world of 200 euro smartwatches and 800 euro phones. not to mention 1000 euro graphic cards. there is enough truly expensive stuff out there that they can point at. Would 600 euro be the smart play? Perhaps not, but i think there is a chance their confidence/hubris is big enough that they go for it.

According to the same source that predicted the exact price and date for Xbox they said it will be $499 with disk and $399 without and the date will be Nov 13.

This sounds believable and the correct move by Sony if the leaks are once again correct. The Disk Only version costing $100 dollars less makes sense because its still the same console without the drive, unlike the $299 Series S which is a hardware downgrade from the Series X.

I have no concept of what Blu Ray drives cost. All of mine are Sony consoles.

@fourthline: I'm betting Microsoft will stop charging for online this generation.

It would be odd and bit funny if they did not put out the price and date during this event but I can’t see them not doing so at this point.

I'm betting on 499 for the diskless and 599 for the fully featured one with a big marketing emphasis on "starting at 499" with the 599 being the luxury model for the the most die hard gamers. No clue how it will turn out but that's just my gut feeling.

The PS5 will cost more for sure. It'll be the "Sony Tax" for having exclusive games
whereas everything on Xbox can be played on PC or even streamed to an android device.

@panfoot: the only way $599 would fly for me is full disc based backwards compatibility day one. Since we know that’s not going to happen I think the memes and enemy crabs might see us with a day one price drop. I’m not getting PS5 no matter what. I’ve mostly graduated from feeling like FIFA, COD, or NBA as a poor launch lineup safespace so having 100% of my Library day one is big. I’m curious if my digital Xbox one pre order of Cold War gets me both versions like it did for Advance Warfare (iirc).

@fourthline: I believe it was Ghost and BO3 that straddled last gen but they could have totally stretched that for a third title that I don’t remember. When I went to Pre-Order BOCW the other day on Xbox there was a version specifically listed as containing both the One + Series X versions (it was not the $60 edition :/ ).

Edit: I had my Cods all jumbled up and you’re right about AW

@shades846: If you read the blog post they do only mention showing games and it being about 40 mins long, so there is a chance they are that crazy. But all you need is 1 min trailer at the end showing that stuff.

There are still a few things to be shown that i would like to see, like the UI, and the back of the console. We are probably two months away and still have yet to see the ports on the back.

I expect Sony to be more expensive, and I think that would probably be the right call for them. Sony has the momentum from last generation, they have better games at launch (not that their lineup is impressive), and they currently have better first parties, so for people that want to play God of War 2 2022(?) I don't think they're going to say "I like Sony and their games but hey, saving $50 is $50".

Regardless of their pricing, the console war won't be decided this year, and probably not next year either.

@lego_my_eggo: Out of curiosity, what do you expect from the back?

Maybe it is just that I am not as up on AV stuff as I used to be but is there anything other than the standard HDMI port, TOSlink, ethernet, and power that we can expect? Maybe a spare USB A or C port. I AM pretty curious what version/"grade" of HDMI we can expect but that is purely a spec sheet (and really a digital foundry after release) thing.

@gundato: I’m curious about dedicated VR ports. Proprietary ports, power cables, or no Ethernet port. They might have all USB-C cables. I just think the PS5 just looks like a Fisher-Price you, which it is in reality.

So far the P$500 is just the two USB3 ports on the front, which looks good but I hope the back has a lot as well. Maybe 1 more USB port? I hope they do that breakdown on Wednesday.

At this point, what do you use the USB ports for? It's charging controllers for me and maybe a keyboard.

@gundato: I assume its going to be the standard ports, and maybe some proprietary PSVR2/camera port (no ps4 camera port since they are giving out that adapter). But the two USB ports on the front are not going to be enough for me with an external HDD and PSVR and charging a controller. And i assume TOSlink is there, but they have cut corners in the past with that and i saw some people mad at the PS4 slim for that reason. So the disk version might have TOSIink, but maybe not the digital version. Its mostly the fact i just realized we haven't seen the full outside of the console yet, but you can find a full tear down of the series X. Puts a little perspective on how open Microsoft has been with there stuff, while Sony has been holding all there cards as close to there chest as they can.

@shindig: A lot of great wireless headsets use a USB adapter, usb external hard drives, driving wheel and other accessories run through USB, and of course charging. The the USB ports on the PS4 were far too few.

@lego_my_eggo: Fair enough. I find it unlikely they would skimp on the flagship machine of a generation but I could definitely see the (allegedly 100 dollars cheaper) disc driveless one doing that.

Was mostly just curious if there was something I wasn't aware of. USB C with support for hubs would solve almost all of these problems but... yeah

I wouldn't be surprised if they go with $550 just to avoid the dreaded $600 and still be competitive with the Xbox. I can't see them undercutting, but I could maybe see them matching, best case scenario.

I am curious, let say hypothetically the PS5 comes in at $100 more expensive than the XSX (I can't imagine any world where they could go higher than that) would $599 be a breaking point for some people?

Would it steer you towards the cheaper diskless edition, make you have to wait to save more money/wait for sale or go as far as making you consider buying an Xbox Series X instead?

I guess I am mostly wondering if there is anyone out there, with what we know so far, that is still deciding which console to buy? Would a higher priced PS5 ruin your current plans? Has the Xbox price announcements and/or the All Access program made you think twice?

Personally I think Sony will go $550 standard and $450 for diskless. They can then say they have a full powered console cheaper than the competition: "starting at $449". Obviously this still much more expensive than the Series S but I don't think Sony really cares about it since I don't believe they could come close to beating it on price.

Nothing, apparently

@jigglephysx: I know myself, I’ll eventually get both consoles because that’s just who I am. And so for the fall all I’m really basing my decision on is which system is cheaper and getting that. Especially because I’m leaning in the All Access direction, I really don’t see Sony matching a $35/month option, but hey, they could always pull a rabbit out of their hat so I’m still open to hearing their pitch.

Obviously, I understand that I’m far away from the mainstream on this one, and am not as enamored with Sony’s exclusives like the rest of the gaming internet seems to be. But if God of War or Horizon are somebody’s favorite games this gen, then I can’t see how the comparative pricing is going to move them either way.

@hatking: wahahaaha,

The true meat and potatoes question is going to be how Sony prices the 4 models of playstation they will have on offer in November. There is the bold move that tries to Apple price their consoles. I think they think they are strong enough to get away with this.

Apple Ps4 Price: $299

Apple PS4Pro Price: $399

Digital PS5 Price: $499

Disc PS5 Price: $599

Or there is the move where they may canabalize their PS5 sales where their older consoles are so cheap kids would rather have a PS4 that is going to run fortnite forever (who pulls support on PS4 first? Sony or Epic) and take the difference in V-Bucks. Without solid PS5 games and the certainty of Joe Gamers favorite games being backwards compatible this pricing scheme is really the most logical.

Samsung PS4 Price: $199

Samsung PS4Pro Price: $249

Digital PS5 Price $399

Disc Ps5 Price: $499

For me a Series-S (and hopefully free online multiplayer) means that alot of the 360 and xbox one games that have been regulated to dead in the multiplayer space might get a revival. I'm more interested in what my PUBG looks like with 30 second lobbies in all modes. I'm sure alot of us like the prospect of Rainbow Six living another 5 or 10 years. I think most gamers are not really looking for anything new in their multiplayer games. People have locked in to their 1 or 2 favorites and that's what they play. For me next-gen is about what they can do to the games I already love (i'm not looking for new features in IRL Ice Hockey.. the game has matured to the point that maybe a rule change here or there spices things up) and i think that's where multiplayer gaming is. Make my equipment better. Give me composite hockey sticks. I don't need slamball or baseketball. A $299 Series-S cleans up my framerate and gives me an SSD standard. But as far as the promise of what PS5 can do for their prestige single player experiences.. a $199 Samsung PS4 Pro can handle that just fine.

I bet there will be a lot of parents and other relatives shopping for new consoles in the holiday season. They won't really care if they're getting an Xbox or PlayStation and might be swayed either way by sales people. In those cases a $100 difference can easily be the deciding factor.

I also have plenty of friends to whom a console is basically a FIFA machine. They're mostly PlayStation people by default but do on occasion go for an Xbox if it's cheaper than a PlayStation at the time.

I had initially chosen the "match" option, but the more I think about it, the more my answer is "what does it matter?"

I can't say that Microsoft or Sony has convinced me that either of their offerings is worth it, whatever price they are charging. On the MS side, the S seems to exist in this weird in-between space that, while cheaper, is also much less powerful than the X and potentially only on-par with the Series X (god MS naming conventions suck), which begs the question why I shouldn't just stand pat with the Series X? On the other hand, the X is positioned as the most powerful box out of the gate - but there doesn't seem to be anything to play on it. Outside of Halo, which didn't exactly blow my skirt up when they showed it, nothing they've shown has me excited (I'm sure this isn't true of everyone, but Gears or Flight Simulator just isn't my jam).

The same thing goes for Sony, even though we don't know the price just yet. It's seemingly the less powerful console, but it's gaming offerings are more up my alley. Then again, almost none of that seems like it will be out at launch, and with availability likely limited, why shouldn't I just wait a year or so and see if the price drops?

Unless Sony comes out with a crazy-low price, I think I'll just wait.

@therealturk: At $299 my only hesitancy is going to be with the all digital Series-S. I honestly would have taken a 256GB with a read-only disc for authentication purposes (i don't need another blu ray player... a proprietary drive a 1x or something that just for digital authentication). Microsoft is definitely down for some digital shenanigans and I'm not about to pay $200 extra dollars in-case there's the crap built-in digital rights management that i imagine is there. My gamepass games refuse to launch or stay playable if the internet dips for a second and I don't care if some edge case might exploit one gamepass subscription on multiple consoles that is not my problem. And I'm tired of being treated like it is. There is alot of crap policies on Xbox and if i wasnt more against what Playstation does I would probably land there.

I'm goint to let Gamepass and all its games wash over me for the next year. I'm playing games in genres I wouldn't normally (Wasteland 3) and there are some backward compatibility titles (Jade Empire, all the Splinter Cells, Black, and Crimson Skies) that i will want to play. If they announce backwards compatible games at a regular clip like the did during the current generation that gives me way more excitement that gaming news would otherwise be. Older games and backwards compatibility keep older games in the forefront which is where Jeff and Giantbomb shine. If something like Buffy comes back and the community gets back into that's where I want the discourse to go. As it stands now games criticism is all critical whereas you can't help love everything that older games were trying to do.

I'll probably get the Series-S and only play gamepass and backwardes compatiblity games there. I'll keep buying physical xbox-one games and play those on my One-S in anticipation of the inevitable Series-X special edition with cool colors.

@therealturk: I think you nailed the background truth around the next gen hype, namely that this biggest competition to Sony and Microsoft are their own success with the current gen consoles. Third parties are going to support these devices for the foreseeable future, so why upgrade now? Next-gen this year is 100% a treat yourself purchase, not a necessity (as much as a video game console can be a “necessity”).

I'm going to be 43 in a couple months. I've been gaming since I got a NES for Christmas when I was 8. And I've never been less excited for a new console generation than I am right now.

Evidently Sony's fab partner is having trouble getting good yields out of the PS5's main chip, so they're cutting production numbers. Not directly related to pricing, but could make getting one at launch pretty interesting

@navster15: I personally feel like that's always been the case though. Support for older consoles typically lasts a good couple years after the launch of new consoles (the only exception consoles that were already on deaths door, like the Wii U), sometimes even longer when it comes to smaller studios like Atlus. And it always takes a solid year at least for a decent library to build up.

The only people who buy consoles day 1 are the people who want the new shiny thing asap. They're pretty much never actually worth the price when they launch.